I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Torquay. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Torquay.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Torquay which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Torquay. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Torquay. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Torquay with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Torquay can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Torquay levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Torquay.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Torquay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 325000 garden flat in Torquay in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Torquay?

Torquay conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically necessitates fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Torquay
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Torquay leasehold property is £350. For Torquay conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

Torquay Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? Please note that where the lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease.